Lesson Six
Student Essay: Slave Life in 18th Century Deerfield, Massachusetts

Although Deerfield never had a large population
of enslaved African Americans at any given time in the 18th century,
a number of residents did own men, women and children, starting
at least as early as the 1680’s. Slavery was simply considered
to be part of life in New England. Deerfield's residents must have
been used to interacting with black people on a regular basis, on
the street, at the meetinghouse, and in the stores of local merchants
and craftsmen. It has been calculated that the population of Deerfield
included fifty-five "servants for life" from the 17th
through the late 18th centuries. The most prominent Deerfield families
owned slaves. The Reverend John Williams (1664-1729) owned five
slaves; the next minister, the Reverend Jonathan Ashley (1712-1780)
owned three, and yeoman farmer Ebenezer Wells (1691-1758) owned
two.

In New England, plantations like those in the southern colonies
were rare, although there were some in certain parts of Rhode Island,
for example. Male slaves in cities worked either in specialized
trades or were involved in the shipping industry. Inland, where
small farms dominated, it was common for white masters and African
American slaves to work side by side during the day - the males
working primarily outside and the females involved in domestic activities
indoors. It was also common for them to retire to the same house
at night. Separate "slave quarters" were rare in the North.
Although most enslaved African Americans lived with their masters,
this did not mean that they were treated equally, however. They
usually did not dine at the same table. Sleeping space might be
a corner of the kitchen or in the attic. Slaves often attended religious
services with their masters but sat separately, upstairs in the
gallery rather than in family pews. Throughout the town, work, commerce,
and daily life presented many opportunities for slaves to interact,
communicate, and form relationships with one another. However, the
personal, more private side of slaves' experience is difficult or
even impossible for us to reconstruct.

In the household, enslaved women like Jenny (or Jin), who belonged
to the Reverend Ashley, took care of the children, cooked the family's
meals over the kitchen fireplace, washed and mended the clothes,
cleaned the house, and worked in the kitchen garden. Lucy, who was
purchased as a child by Ebenezer Wells, worked in his house and
also at one of Deerfield's taverns.

Male slaves, like the majority of the men in Deerfield, Massachusetts
were involved primarily in agricultural work. The Reverend Jonathan
Ashley owned two male slaves, Cato and Titus. In February 1752,
Ebenezer Barnard was indebted to Reverend Ashley for work performed
by his slaves: "thrashing"
by Titus and "working" by Titus and Cato. In 1756 another
entry states: "4 days work of Titus." In addition there
are mention of a "days work of Titus dunging
in holes for planting," "a days work of Cato reaping
oats," plus husking, mowing, picking corn, howing [sic], pulling
flax, cutting stalks and other tasks.

Ashley loaned his two slaves to people in other
towns as well as to those in Deerfield. In October 1759, Cato was
loaned out to Caleb Sharp (Sharp Caleb) of Greenfield, Massachusetts
[George Sheldon reveals that Mr. Sharp was part Indian blood and
part black, and was a skilled hunter as well as a carpenter and
millwright]. A reference in June 1757 shows Cato doing work in Northampton
for Samuel Dickinson.

Abijah Prince, a free black man in Deerfield, had an account with Reverend Ashley from 1756 to 1768. Ashley provided Prince with help in the form of Cato and Titus to thrash, to dress flax, to cut wood, to help with sugaring (February 1757). The two slaves also plowed and planted in the spring, mowed, thrashed, drained, and took up stalks in the fall. All the named tasks were agriculturally related.

The evidence above suggests that Abijah Prince
had his own farm. Prince had married Lucy Terry on May 17, 1756,
and they were living on land given to them by Ebenezer Wells at
the end of his Lot 26. Lucy had been the property of Ebenezer Wells
for sixteen years before her marriage to Prince. Prince, then a
free black and landowner, was using slave labor to run his farm
by paying the slave owner, Reverend Ashley, for their use.

Prince paid his debts in cash in several instances, and by work in others. The work included "2 hours work mending fence," and a quantity of spinning by his wife.

A survey of account books in Deerfield indicates
that many slaves had personal accounts with local storekeepers.
On most occasions, work, rather than cash or goods, was the method
used to pay the debts. Cesar, who belonged to Timothy Childs, bought
a pair of shoe buckles and a cap worth two shillings, fifteen pence,
from Elijah Williams' store. Thomas Dickinson's slave, Ishmael,
purchased stockings, rum, a pair of gloves, a pair of garters and
a handkerchief. He paid his debt of fifteen shillings by "3
days work" and by digging a grave.

Titus and Cato, Ashley's male slaves, also appear
in Elijah Williams' account book. Cato bought, in 1755 and 1756,
knee buckles, shoe buckles, pipes, knives, buttons, and rum, in
addition to "a small pamphlet" worth two pence, two
farthings. The purchase of reading matter suggests that Cato
was literate; this should not be a surprise since Ashley was known
to have tutored both slaves and young men for the ministry.

Titus settled his account of the purchase of needles, three yards of gartering, and rum by a combination of payments: making a broom, bottoming chairs, a quantity of tobacco, and cash.

Salah Barnard (1725-1795) also sold sundries and included Abijah Prince as a customer in 1765. Abijah bought a bed and blankets, pork, beef, sugar, and rum. He paid to borrow a horse for "a day to harrow," and a "man and cattle to get hay.' Abijah's account was credited by planting, cutting wood, cutting tobacco, and "chores."

Dr. Thomas Williams gave credit to both Abijah Prince and Titus for medical supplies, potatoes, cash, and veterinary services. The two men paid their debts to the doctor by work: "ferriage," making mortar, reaping oats, picking apples, and cutting tobacco; and also with goods: yarn, flax, pigs, and a heifer calf.

The slave Mescheck was owned first by Reverend Williams and he
is listed in inventories in 1729 as a part of the minister's estate.
Mescheck was described as a "mulatto."
When Abigail, daughter of the Reverend Williams, married Col. Ebenezer
Hinsdale in 1730, Mescheck became her property. He became an important
member of the Hinsdale family; Col. Hinsdale had a large mercantile
business both in Hinsdale, New Hampshire, and in Deerfield, Massachusetts.
Mescheck seems to have conducted the business at one place while
his master was at the other. In 1752 Mescheck had a personal account
at the store of Major Elijah Williams, which the account book shows
was squarely settled.

The slave accounts show the same methods of payment - cash, goods, and services - and a similar time lapse from purchase to payment, as their white owners in 18th century Deerfield.